The present invention relates to an arrangement for enhancing the cooling capacity of portable personal computers. More particularly, the invention is directed to the provision of an arrangement for increasing the cooling capacity of portable personal computers, such as laptop or notebook computers, wherein the computer possesses a deployable keyboard located in the bottom keyboard housing to which there is articulated an openable display unit, and wherein heat generating electronic elements, such as a processor, are located in the housing for the keyboard.
The capacity and performance of portable personal computers, such as laptop computers, notebook computers or the like, has recently been enhanced to such an extent that; for example, since the beginning of 1996, the thermal dissipation requirements of portable personal computers (PCs) have increased from about 10 watts to 20 watts and even higher values. This increase in the thermal dissipation requirements is a result of ever increasing CPU performance and additional functionality; such as DVD, modem, audio and the like, which are provided by future PCs. As eludicated in an article by Albert Yu, "The Future of Microprocessors", IEEE Micro, December 1996, pages 46 through 53, the trend of increasing power dissipation in the form of heat for portable personal computers will continue in the foreseeable future. Thus, at the widely employed A4 form factor for a portable personal computer; for instance, the cooling limit for a portable PC without a cooling fan is currently approximately 15 to 20 watts. Thus, providing a greater cooling capacity than the current limits in order to meet the anticipated thermal dissipation requirements of future portable personal computers, represents not only a potential competitive advantage in industry, but also provides a significant product differentiation from currently available commercially sold portable personal computers.